Crew Overboard

Hi Gang, It has been almost a year since my overboard ordeal. I have been asked to prepare a lessons learned presentztion on what happened and present it to the local clubs in the area. I am asking a favor; someone sent me a story, out of San Francisco; it was a story about a father and son, they where sailing a trip out of San Fransisco, North, and the son was washed overboard and unable to be recovered and he passed away. It still haunts me till this day. I wish to use this, as part of recovering a victom, does anyone know were I got it from and could they please send it to me again. It drives a very strong point on recoveries and I would like to use it before we go into details on recoveries. Randy CAL 2-29 Out patient Channel Islands CA --------------------------------- Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

Randy, I remember too. I think the story may be the one in this blog. Looks like story ran in The Oregonian, Thursday, June 8, 2006. - Kirk http://surfinoregon.blogspot.com/2006/07/hero.html Randy Alcorn wrote: > > > Hi Gang, > > It has been almost a year since my overboard ordeal. I have been asked > to prepare a lessons learned presentztion on what happened and present > it to the local clubs in the area. > > I am asking a favor; > > someone sent me a story, out of San Francisco; it was a story about a > father and son, they where sailing a trip out of San Fransisco, North, > and the son was washed overboard and unable to be recovered and he > passed away. It still haunts me till this day. > > I wish to use this, as part of recovering a victom, does anyone know > were I got it from and could they please send it to me again. It drives > a very strong point on recoveries and I would like to use it before we > go into details on recoveries. > > Randy > CAL 2-29 > Out patient > Channel Islands CA > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers > <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48255/*http://answers.yahoo.com/dir/_ylc=X3oDMTI5MGx2aThyBF9TAzIxMTU1MDAzNTIEX3MDMzk2NTQ1MTAzBHNlYwNCQUJwaWxsYXJfTklfMzYwBHNsawNQcm9kdWN0X3F1ZXN0aW9uX3BhZ2U-?link=list&sid=396545433>from > someone who knows. > Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. > -- Kirk Grier kg… [at] kirkgrier.com http://kirkgrier.com/

Randy, I also recall the story about two teenagers and a father (?) sailing a Newport 30 up the coast from Southern California, that got caught in the shallows and swells off the beach south of Seal Rock in San Francisco. The only fatality was the teenager who was tethered to the boat, he couldn't get free when the boat was flipped over by a big wave and turned turtle. The other two were washed overboard and made it safely to shore. I think this was two years ago. I didn't hear of your ordeal, what happened to yea? I wonder why the Cal 29 in this case couldn't turn around and sail back to the MOB? Unless there wasn't any wind, that's the first thing I'd do, before I even thought of starting the engine. Of course, I'm playing armchair detective. Sometimes people can succumb to hypothermia in a matter of minutes, but usually older victims. We had two fatalities here in Marina del Rey, two separate years, but they may have been heart attack related, I don't know. In the second case one crewman dove overboard to keep the victim above water, and the victim was soon retrieved. It was an April Wednesday evening race sailed in rough conditions. Very tragic. Jerry Randy Alcorn <sa… [at] yahoo.com> wrote: Hi Gang, It has been almost a year since my overboard ordeal. I have been asked to prepare a lessons learned presentztion on what happened and present it to the local clubs in the area. I am asking a favor; someone sent me a story, out of San Francisco; it was a story about a father and son, they where sailing a trip out of San Fransisco, North, and the son was washed overboard and unable to be recovered and he passed away. It still haunts me till this day. I wish to use this, as part of recovering a victom, does anyone know were I got it from and could they please send it to me again. It drives a very strong point on recoveries and I would like to use it before we go into details on recoveries. Randy CAL 2-29 Out patient Channel Islands CA --------------------------------- Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

try searching Latitude 38, if you have copies , or write Lectronic latitude for help. They did extensive coverage of the story I think. I remember the father writing a letter to them explaining. Shelley Richards Seven Sisters Cal 29 #154 Alameda CA From: Gerald Sobel <so… [at] yahoo.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 5:29 am Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Crew Overboard(Randy) Randy, I also recall the story about two teenagers and a father (?) sailing a Newport 30 up the coast from Southern California, that got caught in the shallows and swells off the beach south of Seal Rock in San Francisco. The only fatality was the teenager who was tethered to the boat, he couldn't get free when the boat was flipped over by a big wave and turned turtle. The other two were washed overboard and made it safely to shore. I think this was two years ago. I didn't hear of your ordeal, what happened to yea? ?I wonder why the Cal 29 in this case couldn't turn around and sail back to the MOB? Unless there wasn't any wind, that's the first thing I'd do, before I even thought of starting the engine. Of course, I'm playing armchair detective. Sometimes people can succumb to hypothermia in a matter of minutes, but usually older victims. We had two fatalities here in Marina del Rey, two separate years, but they may have been heart attack related, I don't know. In the second case one crewman dove overboard to keep the victim above water, and the victim was soon retrieved. It was an April Wednesday evening race sailed in rough conditions. Very tragic. Jerry Randy Alcorn <sa… [at] yahoo.com> wrote: Hi Gang, ? It has been almost a year since my overboard ordeal. I have been asked to prepare a lessons learned presentztion on what happened and present it to the local?clubs in the area. ? I am asking a favor; ? someone sent me a story, out of San Francisco;?it was a story about?a father and son, they where sailing a trip out of San Fransisco, North, ?and the son was washed overboard and unable to be recovered and he passed away. It still haunts me till this day. ? I wish to use this, as part of recovering a victom, does anyone know were I got it from and could they please send it to me again. It drives a very strong point on recoveries and I would like to use it before we go into details on recoveries. ? Randy CAL 2-29 Out patient Channel Islands CA Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com

--- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, Randy Alcorn <saylorran@...> wrote: > > Hi Gang, > > It has been almost a year since my overboard ordeal. I have been asked to prepare a lessons learned presentztion on what happened and present it to the local clubs in the area. > > I am asking a favor; > > someone sent me a story, out of San Francisco; it was a story about a father and son, they where sailing a trip out of San Fransisco, North, and the son was washed overboard and unable to be recovered and he passed away. It still haunts me till this day. > > I wish to use this, as part of recovering a victom, does anyone know were I got it from and could they please send it to me again. It drives a very strong point on recoveries and I would like to use it before we go into details on recoveries. Latitude 38 had the story last year. It occurred in the Bay Area. Mike Kennedy Conquest Cal 40 # 96 > > Randy > CAL 2-29 > Out patient > Channel Islands CA > > > --------------------------------- > Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. > Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. >

Randy, here is the letter. Susan Ingram --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------- A FATHER REFLECTS ON AN UNSPEAKABLE SAILING TRAGEDY My 18-year-old son Andy Brinkley, who had sailed most of his life, was swept overboard and lost in very rough conditions at 7:45 a.m. on June 6 about 30 miles west of Pt. Reyes. A short time before the tragedy, I'd bought the Cal 29 Fat Chance in the Bay Area, and was taking her north to her new homeport in Portland, Oregon. The crew consisted of my longtime sailing buddy Paddy Tillett, my son Andy, Paddy's son Marcus, and my son's friend Max Hamlin. All the boys were 18 and had just graduated from high school earlier in the week. The sailing trip north was their graduation present. Andy, who had been on watch, came below to use the head. When he was about to go on deck again, I suggested that he use my offshore foul weather jacket. One of his buddies had suffered a touch of seasickness, so my son's last words to me were, "Does it smell like vomit?" It didn't, so he put it on. Ten seconds after Andy went back into the cockpit, but before he had time to clip on, a 20-ft wall of green water hit the boat. Much of the water cascaded down the companionway. The next thing I heard was, "Man overboard!" I ran topside to find that Paddy had been swept off the boat. I saw a hand clinging to the starboard side of the boat, and looked over the side to see my buddy Paddy. His face was bloodied, and he was struggling to maintain a one-handed grip on the boat. He later told me that the D-ring on his lifeline had failed, and he was just about to lose his grip when I pulled him back aboard. As I was helping Paddy get back on the boat, I realized that my son had also been washed over. I yelled for the other two boys to come on deck, then spotted my son 10 boat-lengths astern. I turned the boat around, then let her drift down to him until he was just three feet from my outstretched hands. I will never forget the look on my son's face. He was unconscious and his eyes were rolled back. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought ahead, and had nothing ready with which to try and reach him. My foul weather coat was keeping Andy's upper body well out of the water but, God help me, I couldn't jump in and grab him. The boat's engine wasn't working, so I couldn't use it to try to get any closer. Passing the tiller to one of Andy's friends, I told the other boy not to take his eyes off my son, and scrambled below to get a boat hook and some line. But when I got back to the cockpit seconds later, my son had disappeared, having been swept away from the boat by a big wave. I would never see him alive again. We set off the EPIRB and threw in the man overboard pole. We also tried to contact the Coast Guard, but had problems with the radio. About an hour later we could hear Andy blowing on his safety whistle, but we were never able to find him. The Coast Guard responded with a C-130, an 87-ft cutter, two 47-ft patrol boats, and two helicopters. They spotted our boat about 9 a.m., but didn't locate and recover Andy's body for another 3.5 hours. By that time he was three miles northwest of our boat. I lost my boy. He was good swimmer and I'm convinced he passed away from hypothermia rather than drowning. I'm writing about this tragic experience to remind all sailors to be careful. A freak wave hit Fat Chance and washed two of our crew over. It wasn't as though we were unprepared. We had three experienced sailors aboard, three radios, two GPS units, and tons of safety gear. We thought we were ready, but we were wrong. I'm urging everyone to please review their man overboard procedures - especially the procedures for cases where the victim is unconscious. Things might have turned out differently had Andy been conscious. God help me, my life will never be the same without my son. As I write this, it's been 26 days since I lost Andy. It's the longest time I've ever been without my little buddy. I'm a very distraught father and a much sadder sailor. Ken Brinkley Portland, Oregon Ken - On behalf of all our readers, thank you for taking the time during your grief to share your experience. Hopefully it will save the lives of others. We can't imagine the torment you're experiencing, and hope that someday you'll be able to find some peace. © 2006 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc. --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, sar0207@... wrote: > > > try searching Latitude 38, if you have copies , or write Lectronic latitude for help. They did extensive coverage of the story I think. I remember the father writing a letter to them explaining. > > > > Shelley Richards > > Seven Sisters > > Cal 29 #154 > > Alameda CA > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gerald Sobel <sobel_solar@...> > To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 5:29 am > Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Crew Overboard(Randy) > > > > > > > > Randy, > I also recall the story about two teenagers and a father (?) sailing a Newport 30 up the coast from Southern California, that got caught in the shallows and swells off the beach south of Seal Rock in San Francisco. The only fatality was the teenager who was tethered to the boat, he couldn't get free when the boat was flipped over by a big wave and turned turtle. The other two were washed overboard and made it safely to shore. I think this was two years ago. > > I didn't hear of your ordeal, what happened to yea? > > ?I wonder why the Cal 29 in this case couldn't turn around and sail back to the MOB? Unless there wasn't any wind, that's the first thing I'd do, before I even thought of starting the engine. Of course, I'm playing armchair detective. > Sometimes people can succumb to hypothermia in a matter of minutes, but usually older victims. We had two fatalities here in Marina del Rey, two separate years, but they may have been heart attack related, I don't know. In the second case one crewman dove overboard to keep the victim above water, and the victim was soon retrieved. It was an April Wednesday evening race sailed in rough conditions. Very tragic. > Jerry > > Randy Alcorn <saylorran@...> wrote: > > > > > > Hi Gang, > > ? > > It has been almost a year since my overboard ordeal. I have been asked to prepare a lessons learned presentztion on what happened and present it to the local?clubs in the area. > > ? > > I am asking a favor; > > ? > > someone sent me a story, out of San Francisco;?it was a story about?a father and son, they where sailing a trip out of San Fransisco, North, ?and the son was washed overboard and unable to be recovered and he passed away. It still haunts me till this day. > > ? > > I wish to use this, as part of recovering a victom, does anyone know were I got it from and could they please send it to me again. It drives a very strong point on recoveries and I would like to use it before we go into details on recoveries. > > ? > > Randy > > CAL 2-29 > > Out patient > > Channel Islands CA > > > Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. > Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. > > > > > > > > > > > Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com >

I hope I can read this out loud, the tears... I could just read this letter and nothing I can say in my presentation can even come close. Thank you Susan Randy Susan Ingram <su… [at] hotmail.com> wrote: Randy, here is the letter. Susan Ingram ---------------------------------------------------------- ----------- A FATHER REFLECTS ON AN UNSPEAKABLE SAILING TRAGEDY My 18-year-old son Andy Brinkley, who had sailed most of his life, was swept overboard and lost in very rough conditions at 7:45 a.m. on June 6 about 30 miles west of Pt. Reyes. A short time before the tragedy, I'd bought the Cal 29 Fat Chance in the Bay Area, and was taking her north to her new homeport in Portland, Oregon. The crew consisted of my longtime sailing buddy Paddy Tillett, my son Andy, Paddy's son Marcus, and my son's friend Max Hamlin. All the boys were 18 and had just graduated from high school earlier in the week. The sailing trip north was their graduation present. Andy, who had been on watch, came below to use the head. When he was about to go on deck again, I suggested that he use my offshore foul weather jacket. One of his buddies had suffered a touch of seasickness, so my son's last words to me were, "Does it smell like vomit?" It didn't, so he put it on. Ten seconds after Andy went back into the cockpit, but before he had time to clip on, a 20-ft wall of green water hit the boat. Much of the water cascaded down the companionway. The next thing I heard was, "Man overboard!" I ran topside to find that Paddy had been swept off the boat. I saw a hand clinging to the starboard side of the boat, and looked over the side to see my buddy Paddy. His face was bloodied, and he was struggling to maintain a one-handed grip on the boat. He later told me that the D-ring on his lifeline had failed, and he was just about to lose his grip when I pulled him back aboard. As I was helping Paddy get back on the boat, I realized that my son had also been washed over. I yelled for the other two boys to come on deck, then spotted my son 10 boat-lengths astern. I turned the boat around, then let her drift down to him until he was just three feet from my outstretched hands. I will never forget the look on my son's face. He was unconscious and his eyes were rolled back. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought ahead, and had nothing ready with which to try and reach him. My foul weather coat was keeping Andy's upper body well out of the water but, God help me, I couldn't jump in and grab him. The boat's engine wasn't working, so I couldn't use it to try to get any closer. Passing the tiller to one of Andy's friends, I told the other boy not to take his eyes off my son, and scrambled below to get a boat hook and some line. But when I got back to the cockpit seconds later, my son had disappeared, having been swept away from the boat by a big wave. I would never see him alive again. We set off the EPIRB and threw in the man overboard pole. We also tried to contact the Coast Guard, but had problems with the radio. About an hour later we could hear Andy blowing on his safety whistle, but we were never able to find him. The Coast Guard responded with a C-130, an 87-ft cutter, two 47-ft patrol boats, and two helicopters. They spotted our boat about 9 a.m., but didn't locate and recover Andy's body for another 3.5 hours. By that time he was three miles northwest of our boat. I lost my boy. He was good swimmer and I'm convinced he passed away from hypothermia rather than drowning. I'm writing about this tragic experience to remind all sailors to be careful. A freak wave hit Fat Chance and washed two of our crew over. It wasn't as though we were unprepared. We had three experienced sailors aboard, three radios, two GPS units, and tons of safety gear. We thought we were ready, but we were wrong. I'm urging everyone to please review their man overboard procedures - especially the procedures for cases where the victim is unconscious. Things might have turned out differently had Andy been conscious. God help me, my life will never be the same without my son. As I write this, it's been 26 days since I lost Andy. It's the longest time I've ever been without my little buddy. I'm a very distraught father and a much sadder sailor. Ken Brinkley Portland, Oregon Ken - On behalf of all our readers, thank you for taking the time during your grief to share your experience. Hopefully it will save the lives of others. We can't imagine the torment you're experiencing, and hope that someday you'll be able to find some peace. © 2006 Latitude 38 Publishing Co., Inc. --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, sar0207@... wrote: > > > try searching Latitude 38, if you have copies , or write Lectronic latitude for help. They did extensive coverage of the story I think. I remember the father writing a letter to them explaining. > > > > Shelley Richards > > Seven Sisters > > Cal 29 #154 > > Alameda CA > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gerald Sobel <sobel_solar@...> > To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com > Sent: Tue, 11 Sep 2007 5:29 am > Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Crew Overboard(Randy) > > > > > > > > Randy, > I also recall the story about two teenagers and a father (?) sailing a Newport 30 up the coast from Southern California, that got caught in the shallows and swells off the beach south of Seal Rock in San Francisco. The only fatality was the teenager who was tethered to the boat, he couldn't get free when the boat was flipped over by a big wave and turned turtle. The other two were washed overboard and made it safely to shore. I think this was two years ago. > > I didn't hear of your ordeal, what happened to yea? > > ?I wonder why the Cal 29 in this case couldn't turn around and sail back to the MOB? Unless there wasn't any wind, that's the first thing I'd do, before I even thought of starting the engine. Of course, I'm playing armchair detective. > Sometimes people can succumb to hypothermia in a matter of minutes, but usually older victims. We had two fatalities here in Marina del Rey, two separate years, but they may have been heart attack related, I don't know. In the second case one crewman dove overboard to keep the victim above water, and the victim was soon retrieved. It was an April Wednesday evening race sailed in rough conditions. Very tragic. > Jerry > > Randy Alcorn <saylorran@...> wrote: > > > > > > Hi Gang, > > ? > > It has been almost a year since my overboard ordeal. I have been asked to prepare a lessons learned presentztion on what happened and present it to the local?clubs in the area. > > ? > > I am asking a favor; > > ? > > someone sent me a story, out of San Francisco;?it was a story about?a father and son, they where sailing a trip out of San Fransisco, North, ?and the son was washed overboard and unable to be recovered and he passed away. It still haunts me till this day. > > ? > > I wish to use this, as part of recovering a victom, does anyone know were I got it from and could they please send it to me again. It drives a very strong point on recoveries and I would like to use it before we go into details on recoveries. > > ? > > Randy > > CAL 2-29 > > Out patient > > Channel Islands CA > > > Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. > Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. > > > > > > > > > > > Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com > --------------------------------- Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell.